“Julius is an aggressive, fast defender that fits really well in our style of play,” coach Dominic Kinnear said. “I think he has a very bright future, not only in our club, but also in Major League Soccer,”

James brings something else to the table – a low salary that is bound to ease cap pressure on the Dynamo.

In essence, the Dynamo are trading De Rosario’s $325,000 yearly compensation – high by MLS standards – for James’ $45,000 salary.

“It swings our salary cap in a huge, huge way,” Canetti said. “We now have incredible flexibility to do a lot of things.”

Now Playing:

High on the Dynamo's priority list is shopping for a forward to replace Nate Jaqua, who left for Seattle FC last month, and a backup goalkeeper.